Generally, a slide hinge of this type, as disclosed in Published Examined Patent Application Sho. 59-4017, includes a hinge body attached to an inner surface of a side wall of a body; an intermediate member that is rotatably coupled to a tip end of the hinge body via two links; and a tubular fixed member that is attached to the intermediate member. The fixed member is inserted in a mounting hole formed in an inner surface of a door, and then fixed along with the intermediate member to an attachment hole.
More specifically, a separation groove is formed in one end surface of a periphery wall of the fixed member so as to extend from one side portion of the periphery wall toward the other side portion thereof. As a result of forming this separation groove, a portion of the periphery wall is divided into an inner periphery side portion that is to the inside of the separation groove, and an outer periphery side portion that is to the outside of the separation groove. Both ends of the separation groove in a length direction thereof are open to an outer periphery surface of the periphery wall, whereby the outer side portion is only connected to the inner periphery side region via a joining portion that is provided between a bottom surface of the separation groove and the other end surface of the fixed member. The joining portion is comparatively thin, and is capable of elastic deformation. Thus, the outer periphery side portion can be rotated about the joining portion such that a tip end thereof (an end at the side of the one end surface of the periphery wall) can be displaced to a radial direction outer side of the fixed member. A through hole which opens to the bottom surface of the separation groove and which passes through the joining portion is formed in the other end surface of the fixed member.
The attachment hole is formed in the inner surface of the door for when the fixed member is attached to the door. The fixed member is inserted into the attachment hole from the one end surface side of the fixed member. Then, the intermediate member is pressed into the separation groove via the through hole, whereby the tip end of the outer periphery side portion is displaced to the radial direction outer side. As a result, a wedge protrusion formed in an outer periphery surface of the outer periphery side portion is wedged into an inner periphery surface of the attachment hole. Accordingly, the fixed member is fixed to the attachment hole, and the intermediate member is fixed to the door via the fixed member. Thus, the door is rotatably coupled to the body via the slide hinge.
In the above known slide hinge, the outer periphery side portion and the inner periphery side portion are connected via the joining portion between the bottom surface of the separation groove and the other end surface of the fixed member. Accordingly, for example, if an external force acts on the fixed member so as to remove the fixed member from the attachment hole, stress concentrates in the joining portion. Note that, since the joining portion is thin, when a large external force acts on the fixed member, there is a possibility that the outer periphery side portion and the inner periphery side portion (the fixed member excluding the outer periphery side portion) will break off from the joining portion. To address this, the joining portion may be made thicker to increase its strength. However, if this structure is adopted, it becomes difficult to displace the outer periphery side portion a substantial amount. Further, a wedge depth, which is the depth to which the wedge protrusion formed in the outer periphery side portion is wedged into the inner periphery surface of the attachment hole, is reduced. Accordingly, a different problem arises in that the attachment strength of the fixed member is reduced.